


The Goddess of the Underworld

by melWinter



Series: Changing Fate 'verse [2]
Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Hela, BAMF Loki, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Kid Loki, Loki Angst, Odin's A+ Parenting, Protective Frigga, Sneaky Frigga, kid Hela - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 13:02:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8144990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melWinter/pseuds/melWinter
Summary: In Changing Fate we know that Hela became Lady Death as a young girl and was banished from Asgard...this is a one-shot of how it happened.  This is a companion piece, but it can be read on its own.Hela is a special little girl.  She wasn't born like other children.  She was created with magic accidentally by Loki when he was still a child.  There is a special little alcove above the room that the Advisory Council holds their meetings with Odin presiding as they discuss policy and politics.  It happens to be where Loki and Hela meet to secretly listen in.  Until today.  They are preteens and have just heard the decree of Hela's death.  But Loki has other plans.





	

ASGARD

                “He didn’t say anything.”  Two children walked quickly next to one another.  They were both at that awkward, preteen stage with coltish long legs that looked too long for their bodies.  Both of them were as thin as a rail, one boy and one girl.  Both with hair as black as midnight, the girl’s almost down to her waist while the boy’s was a frizzy mass that barely brushed the nape of his neck.  Their skin was the same pale color; even their clothing was similar.  The only true difference was that her eyes were a deep green while his were grey-green.  They both went into Asgard’s library, their sanctuary.  As usual it was empty of occupants until now.  She immediately turned to ask her companion, “Why didn’t he say anything, father?”

                It might seem odd, even awkward, for a child of a similar age to address another child with such a title.  Yet the word was accepted with ease, the boy holding a grim maturity to his face that seemed so wrong in one so young.  “I don’t know.”  Or perhaps he did know and didn’t want to actually acknowledge it.

                Slowly she slipped to the floor next to a stuffed chair, wrapping her arms around her knees and staring sightlessly ahead.  They’d just come from their special alcove above the room where the Advisory Council met with the King of Asgard.  A king who was this boy’s father.  A room where they had passed judgement on her for no crime other than existing.  “They’re going to kill me…”

                A concern that normally a daughter of the king would ever have to worry about.  But the problem was that she wasn’t a child of the king.  She was in fact a ‘creation’ of the boy next to her, because there really was no other way to truly describe her.  A spell that had gone wrong, splitting him apart into the two of them.

                Yet to him, she was nothing but real and belonged to him as if he were her father and she were his daughter.  He knelt next to her immediately, putting a hand on her shoulder.  “Hela…not without going through me, first.”

                Hela glanced at him despondently.  They were both children.  In spite of their magical power they were both at the mercy of the adults around them.  “You heard them, Loki.  You have to leave for your proving day at some point.”  All boys were initially trained to be warriors, even if their training never progressed further into joining the ranks of the guard for those final centuries of intense training.  To join the guard, at the appropriate time between that awkward age of child and adolescent, a young warrior is given leave by the head of their household to prove his worth.  It is a test to prove themselves ready to be acknowledged by the other warriors of the realm by going off to kill something.  The more impressive the kill, the more mighty the warrior.

                Loki was a prince and would never accept a commission once his training with the guard was completed but he was still expected to join.  He chewed lightly on his bottom lip, thinking out loud, “Thor can…”

                She made a scoffing noise and shrugged off his hand.  They both knew Thor, Loki’s elder brother, was useless when it concerned anything that might make him look bad before Odin, the warriors, or AEsir society.  Defying a royal decree would do so, without question.  Thor was especially useless now that he had been accepted as a might warrior with his kill and joined the ranks of the guard; he’d returned from Muspelheim with the fiery horns of his trophy.  “It’s not what can he do…it’s what will he do?”

                He sat down next to her, shoulder to shoulder.  “We’ll still try.”

                “And failing that?”

                His face brightened considerably as he asked, “Mother?”

                Hela was a bit more practical.  “She may be queen…but how much can she actually do?”  Loki’s face contorted with objection but Hela just raised her hand slightly.  “I love her as well, father, but be honest.  Is she of any use to us?”

                Sighing softly while shaking his head.  He knew how much sway a wife actually had in AEsir society, even if she was a queen.  “We’ll think of something.”

                “No.”

                Loki looked at her in surprise as he asked, “No?”

                Hela primly sat with her hands folded in her lap.  “We’ll think of it now, not later when we’re in a panic if uncle fails to aid us.”

                They stayed sitting next to one another thinking.  Jötunheim and Muspelheim were dismissed instantly for temperature reasons and the hostile natives.  Midgard was out of the question with its primitive race and poor protections from AEsir might.  Neither Alfheim nor Vanaheim were practical because they would both yield to Asgard’s will rather than go to war.  Svartalfheim would have potential if it weren’t a barren wasteland.

                Loki sourly studied the floor.  “Maybe outside of the nine.”

                “No.”

                He immediately turned towards her.  “Hela--…”

                She cut him off effortlessly, glaring at him.  “If it’s outside of the nine I might never see you again.  No.”

                He threw up his hands and shouted at her, desperate for her to see reason, “If you stay here you’ll die!”

                “Then I’ll die.”  Her lower lip trembled with her soft declaration but he could see the resolve in her eyes.  She meant it.  If the choice was life without him or death, she would choose death.

                He slapped the floor and pushed himself to his feet.  “Helheim it is.”

                “What??”  Hela blinked at him in stunned surprise.

                Enough surprise that he was able to drag her to her feet and tug her out the door with a hand around her wrist.  “It’s perfect.”

                She numbly followed him.  “It’s the land of the dead.”

                He stopped to grin a Cheshire grin.  “Exactly.  The AEsir don’t go there.  They answer to none so Asgard has no power there.”

                Hela squinted at him and talked slowly, “I’m still alive.”

                “So?”  Loki could see she wasn’t sold on the idea and decided it was better to show her instead.  He grabbed her wrist and started tugging again.  “Come on.  Let’s look at your new kingdom, my lady.”

* * *

HELHEIM

                They couldn’t go by Bi-frost.  Other than the fact that Odin would never let them travel by themselves at their age, it would give away their plans.  Instead they joined hands and slipped through one of the many dark passages that Loki had explored over the years.  Wrapping themselves in shadows, they slipped out of the cave and scrambled up the minor hill to look over the planet.

                Helheim was crawling with demons and both tricksters hissed in unison.  It was the land of eternal twilight.  A land where the dead who had not been evil enough to be sent to Niflheim but were also not worthy of Valhalla dwelt.  Currently the residents were screaming and running from the demons who usually occupied Niflheim.  The dead were just as capable of feeling pain as the living, particularly when such tortures were being delivered by the hordes running rampant across the surface.

                Loki and Hela linked hands so that their thoughts could easily go back and forth between them.

                < _Well, that settles matters_. > Hela spoke almost matter-of-factly, but there was also defeat.

                < _Not necessarily_. > Loki was still looking around with a calculating gleam to his eyes.

                Hela rolled her eyes at him. < _Loki, I am not living here like a refuge_. >

                < _Snob_. >

                She raised her head primly as she asked. < _So? You are as well, **prince**.  Compared to this I’d rather live on Jötunheim first, which is not going to occur_. >

                He gave her a sour look and softly accused her. < _You are just looking for an excuse to reject this possibility_. >

                < _Yes, and I’ve found a very good reason_. > Hela gestured at what was happening around them as she thought this to him.

                Loki was already grinning again. < _This will make matters even easier_. >

                < _How_?? >

                He gave her a look, a rebuke for her lack of critical thinking, and explained. < _Once we conquer them they will be yours for as long as you want them_. >

                < _They’re **demons**_. >

                He shrugged a single shoulder and countered. < _It will make running Niflheim a smoother transition_. >

                Her eyes narrowed at him, explaining slowly but heatedly. < _I’m not ruling over demons_! >

                < _Hela, we’ve all heard the tales. Helheim and Niflheim may be different realms but obviously they are interconnected.  Besides, they will keep the residents there occupied, leaving you free to set up your throne here_. >

                < _Loki_ …>

                He leaned into her just a little closer. < _Imagine it. Hela.  A Goddess_. >

                Hela glanced at him again but knew she was defeated by those pleading eyes. < _How do you propose we defeat this many_? >

                < _Thor might be useful. You know he would enjoy such a challenge._ >  He gave her a hopeful look that she was quick to crush.

               < _No_. >

                Loki’s brow furrowed as he asked. < _Hela_? >

                Her jaw was set and there was a grimness to her eyes.  She didn’t trust the thunderer not to say or do something to ruin their plans. < _We do not tell him of this yet. A test first_. >

                He didn’t seem to object to it.  He just cocked his head slightly and asked. < _What test_? >

                A devious look crossed Hela’s face, but it was mixed with a sorrow in her eyes.  < _Let us see what he says when we tell him of the Advisory Council’s decision_. > She didn’t think he would pass even such a simple test.

                By Loki’s expression, neither did he. <… _and if he fails_? >

                Her eyes turned distant, not seeing the world around them. < _Then we will find another way, but I will know where his loyalties lie_. >

                After a moment Loki nodded grimly. < _We both will_. >

* * *

ASGARD

                Loki stared blindly at the words on the page, as if by thinking of it hard enough he could change the past.  Thor had failed Hela’s test spectacularly.  Not that he was terribly surprised, his brother had grown increasingly arrogant and self-important in recent years.  Arrogant enough to no longer need a weak, scrawny, witch-boy tagging along.  Self-important enough that he didn’t want a baby brother not yet past his first proving ground underfoot and embarrassing him.

                But somewhat naively he’d hoped he was wrong.  Unfortunately he hadn’t been.  Thor had laughed.  As if the thought of Hela being put to death was funny.  Thor hadn’t even waited for the complete explanation before he started laughing.  Which naturally inspired his friends to do the same.  Sif had been looking at him as if he were a foolish child as she laughed and after a pause Fandral had joined in.  Loki had been so angry he’d stormed off and dragged Hela with him, their mockery chasing after the pair of them.

                Hela was sitting next to him, her beautiful face an expressionless mask as she poured through tomes.  He knew it was pointless.  They were looking for a spell that didn’t exist.  But it didn’t stop them from trying.  If they couldn’t find it, perhaps they could make it.

                “A siren’s song, perhaps.”  Hela paused at a page and pointed with a raised eyebrow.

                Loki didn’t lift his head, shaking it.  “Demons wouldn’t be susceptible to it.”

                Her lips pursed in thought before she asked, “A modification?”

                Now he glanced at her before his brow furrowed.  “Except for a few traditional songs I can’t really sing.  You?” 

                Hela wrinkled her nose and thumbed through a few more pages before pushing the book away with a sigh. “This is pointless.  We should go to Alfheim.”

                He grabbed the book she’d abandoned halfway through, asking, “Why?  Only citizens have access to their library.”

                “No.  I should just take my chances there.  Perhaps their smallest moon.  It’s largely unpopulated.  Rumor has it there is a temporal field of some nature around it that distorts time.”  She shivered as she said this.  Even with that distortion she wasn’t confident Heimdall wouldn’t find her.  She may not have been born in the traditional sense but she didn’t want to die.

                Loki flipped the page, his fingers brushing against the words for a compulsion spell as what she’d said sank in.  His eyes turned distant, speaking softly, “…a temporal field…”

                Hela studied him more intently.  Some may see it as a gift but more often than not it felt like a curse.  They were both plagued with an ability to skip several steps ahead of a logical progression to reach a conclusion.  It sounded wonderful, until either of them tried to explain the conclusion without those steps.  It was where the pair of them had earned a reputation as liars since they couldn’t easily explain how they knew someone was guilty of an action or crime, they simply knew.  She could tell his mind was skipping ahead.  “Loki?”

                “We need something that radiates around us, but not a temporal field.  Sort of like…like a…a compulsion spell.”  He grabbed parchment and started to carefully break down the parts of the spell.  A spell was much more than words and gestures.  Breaking it down into separate portions, like one would break down a sentence, allowed for modifications.

                “Compulsion spells are specific.”  He nodded but didn’t look up.  She watched him work, well aware how compulsions worked.  It wrapped around a person’s mind, suppressing their free will to perform an act or a series of actions.  Hela asked him quietly, “Which would compel someone to do…what?”

                “Loyalty.”

                She jerked back from him slightly.  “There isn’t such a compulsion.  At least nothing permanent.  Besides, grandfather would skin us both if we did that to Thor.”

                Loki paused in his writing, breathing carefully.  “Not…not **him**.”  He was so angry with Thor right now he didn’t even have the words.  All that he knew with absolute certainty was that he would never fully trust the thunderer again.  But he knew right now Thor didn’t matter.  Later he would find a suitable punishment…perhaps he would help the thunderer lose his precious Mjolnir, only to be reacquired in an embarrassing manner.  Perhaps a wedding with Thor as the bride…he shook his head to focus on the task at hand.  “The demons.  A compulsion spell of loyalty, we just have to find a way to make it permanent.”

                Hela squinted thoughtfully before she asked, “How?”

                “Blood.  The vows of protection are permanent with blood.  This would be the same.”  She nodded immediately in understanding even as he continued, “If we were to take a sword with us and place the spell over our weapons, all we would have to do is draw blood.”

                She blinked at him in surprise.  “You want us to travel to Helheim to conquer **all** the demons there?”  She would have expected such a brash, foolish plan from Thor but not Loki.

                He winked at her.  “We can do it.”

                “This is suicide.” She stated this not quite flatly.  She was too concerned and worried to pull it off.

                His jaw tightened and he swallowed before gently holding onto her forearms. “Either we both succeed…or we don’t.”  Then he sat up a little straighter as something wild and dark settled into his eyes.  There was a hint now in his voice of the man he would one day become.  “No one decides our fate.”

                After a moment she nodded firmly. “We make our own path.”

                Then he grinned as he let her go, moving back to the topic of the spell. “Perhaps even a chain reaction effect.”  She frowned delicately so he continued his explanation, “We tap a demon and turn it loyal.  That demon taps another, who becomes loyal…etcetera…etcetera…”

                Her frown deepened as she crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.  “Lovely in theory but it doesn’t exist.”

                That Cheshire grin spread across his face as he started to scribble on parchment again.  “It will.”

* * *

HELHEIM

                “Father, you scare me sometimes.”  Hela shook her head, unable to believe he’d talked her into this.  Granted, it hadn’t been very hard for him because she agreed that this was the only logical recourse.  Currently they were both wrapped in shadows, preparing themselves mentally for the battle ahead.

                “It will work.”

                She glanced at him.  “That’s what frightens me.”

                Loki gave her a lopsided grin, which Hela mirrored.  They were both dressed in silver armor, Hela wearing twin sheathes.  Since he was casting, he’d decided to just wear the one.  He also had a pouch of throwing knives that he always had on his person.  “What are you going to do once you’re queen?”

                “Decorate.”  Her response was almost flippant, but she sobered far too quickly.  “We don’t have to do this.”

                “Yes.  We do.”

                She nibbled on the bottom of her lip, her mind obviously racing.  It wasn’t just for her own life.  His was being put in danger to save her.  “We’ll think of something else.  Something that isn’t guaranteed to kill both of us--…”

                “Hela.”  The deepness in his voice paused her.  She stared up at him and saw a reflection of a Loki 700 years older in his eyes stare back.  “This is done.  You can go back to Asgard if you choose but I won’t.”  Then he grinned boyishly, breaking the stillness of the moment.

                It was a decision that he knew would prevent her from returning to Asgard.  “You prick.”

                He replied airily, still grinning, “I’m too young to know what that means.”  She scowled at him but she didn’t leave.  The trickster continued to grin for another second before he stilled, whispering words that had never been put together into a spell before.  Swirls of bright green swirled around him before the weapons on both of their persons glowed.  Hela felt a heaviness on her sword as the spell took hold, but then it lightened once more.

                Loki opened his grey-green eyes, Hela meeting his gaze with her own deep green.  She leaned her head forward so that their foreheads touched.  They both swallowed painfully, a combination of fear and excitement and anger burning in their blood.  She took a step back, her expression disappearing behind a blank mask.  It was the habit of a lifetime, something that Loki echoed just as effortlessly.  Unsheathing their swords, they let the shadows around them disperse and started forward.

                Demons came in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.  The one that they approached was arguably one of the largest of the ones here.  The creature, even hunched over as it was, surpassed six foot.  It had the classic broad, muscular torso that tapered down drastically to thin legs.  Claws instead of finger nails.  A row of jagged fangs instead of smooth teeth and blazing golden eyes.  There was no hair on its body, the dark grey skin covered in a mesh of armor that looked to be fashioned out of metal and dragon scales.

                The demon sensed them and turned, baring its teeth to snarl at them.  Neither trickster showed any fear, bodies tight with tension and eyes watching the creature to telegraph its intent with its own movements.  With a roar it charged, neither Loki nor Hela moving.  Not until it was three feet from them.

                Then it became a dance.  A dangerous, choreographed series of movements.  For every step it made, they countered.  Each swipe of the arm was ducked.  Each kick was sidestepped.  Loki’s eyes flashed green, tired of waiting.  Baring his teeth, he ran forward.  The demon snarled and smashed downward with his fist.  The timing would have flattened the young trickster, but Loki never fought by those rules.  He pivoted to avoid the blow, swiping out and up with his sword as he ran past.

                The demon howled in pain, clutching at its arm just below the deep wound.  Both of them paused, standing next to one another and waiting.  If this didn’t work it would be time for a quick retreat.  The creature looked at them and snarled, a second before stilling as a ring of green settled along the outside of its irises.  After another moment, it bowed to them.  Loki and Hela glanced at one another and smirked.

* * *

 

                Neither of them had any idea how long they had been here.  Hours.  Days.  It had been what felt like an endless campaign and if Loki never picked up a sword again he would die happy.  After a moment he nodded decisively to himself.  He would stick to throwing knives.  The distance from he to the target by throwing knife left the backsplash minimal compared to the rivers of blood that had drenched both of them from blows by sword.

                They were both surrounded by demons, the creatures all still and waiting for a command.  In the distance the dead were slowly coming out of hiding.  Loki glanced around and found himself tempted.  To remain here and rule beside her.  To leave Asgard far behind as a distant, painful memory.  But he couldn’t do that to his mother.  This would do for now.  Until he could convince his father to see reason.

                Loki turned, his armor just as stained in the blood of the damned as hers was.  He offered the hilt of his sword to her with a mischievous smile.  Hela knew what he was doing, what he was offering.  As soon as she took it he bowed to her, symbolically passing his claim to rule over Helheim and Niflheim to her.  She found herself standing a little straighter.

                He rose and turned outward, using magic to make sure his voice was carried. “I present her royal highness, Queen Hela, Goddess of the Underworld.  Pay tribute to Lady Death.”  The demons all dropped to their knees to worship their queen.

* * *

ASGARD

                The murmurs were quiet but Odin watched over the Advisory Council distantly, his mind on other matters.  Neither Loki nor Hela could be found and it had been almost 2 months.  Concerned did not even begin to describe Frigga’s current feelings and Thor was with Heimdall right now, searching the nine realms for any sign of them.

                Several men jumped and heads moved as the double doors to the council room were forced open with a wave of green magic.  Odin slowly stood, his eye wide, to see a figure drenched in dark blood approach.  It was several layers that had dried over, turning the armor black.  It took several moments before he realized it was his missing second born.

                “Loki?”

                Loki bared his teeth in a wide smile, well aware that Odin had never seen him in such a state.  He was always impeccably groomed when in his father’s presence, or else he hid anything amiss with glamour.  But he had come here directly from Helheim to make a grand entrance.  “You’re too late, All-father.”

                Odin frowned at the disrespectful tone his son was so recklessly using.  Not to mention that if this was a family matter it should not be occurring in front of these men.  “Loki.  Now is not the time--…”

                Loki snapped off a retort, knowing it would spark his father’s anger and knowing what he said next would only heighten it.  “It is the perfect time.  Of a matter of discussion between Asgard’s King and Asgard’s Prince.  You and yours may plan to your content.  Hela is quite beyond your reach now.”

                Odin felt like he’d been kicked in the chest.  He was shocked and a dozen scenarios of horror flashed through his mind as he asked quietly, “What?”

                The council’s murmurs grew in volume.  Loki talked right over them, flashing an arrogant smile their way.  “She has now taken up residence as Queen of Helheim.”

                “What??”  Loki’s smile grew now that he heard the anger.  Anger made Odin careless and he was hoping to manipulate him into rescinded Hela’s death decree.

                There were looks of fear from the other men.  But there were also looks of relief and Loki felt his own anger spike though the smile didn’t leave his face as he spoke, “Soon all of Asgard will tremble from the Goddess of the Underworld.”

                Several of the men stood up, one of them growling at him, “You would dare to threaten--…”

                Loki raised a calm eyebrow at the man that may be far older than him but that he outranked. “What is a fact is not a threat.”

                “You would betray Asgard--…”

                “A warning is not a betrayal.”  Loki cut the man off.  “You have no further power over her.  She is free of you.”

                “Then you have both brought this down upon yourselves.  Hela is banished from Asgard.”  Heads jerked around to stare at Odin, Loki included.  Odin was lost in a sea of rage, seeing all of his carefully arranged plans crumbling because of the foolishness of two tricksters.  He spoke a little louder, glaring at his son, “Hela is banished, with this decry broken by the saying of her name.  All AEsir are forbidden from ever uttering it within Asgard from this day forward.”  Loki opened his mouth to no doubt defy him and Odin snapped, “The Asgardian who says her name to break this edict will take her place.”

                Loki stared at Odin, feeling his entire body trembling.  Both of his hands were clenched into fists and both were visibly shaking.  All around him he could feel the thrum of magic and he grasped for it desperately with metaphysical hands to keep himself from attacking his father.

                All the men looked down as they felt the ground beneath their feet grumble and shake.  It wasn’t the first time it had happened when the youngest prince was upset.  But a phenomenon they had expected to last a few seconds seemed to stretch for eternity.  Several of the men jumped back as the foundation cracked.

                The crack splintered and moved with speed, forming a circular pattern around Loki before stretching forward for Odin.  The old king glanced down in surprise as the platform splintered and he quickly stepped out of the way.  The sounds of cries and distress beyond the room prompted him to walk quickly for the door, making certain to give his son a wide berth.

                Outside Odin stopped and stared as he realized the quakes were worse further away.  Several pillars had been knocked down.  No one had been hurt, thankfully, but the spells in place should have made that impossible.  One of the torches had tipped into a tapestry and the servants were trying to beat the flames out.

                Then it just stopped, which was somehow more frightening than the tremors had been.  There was absolute stillness.

                “Oh dear.”  Odin whipped around as his son walked out of the room calmly, his expression hidden behind a mask that would become a familiar sight in the years to come.  Without the quakes and the expression on his face, one might make the mistake to think he was no longer angry.  Loki was so far beyond angry he didn’t even have a word for it.  Yet because he was past fury he felt calm.  “I shall not say her name at this time, and give you the satisfaction of causing my own banishment.  But I simply **must** share this outcome with her.”

                Odin eyed his son stonily.  “You are not permitted to utilize the Bi-Frost, Loki.”

                “Are you forbidding me from seeing my daughter?”  Loki’s eyes flashed emerald green and his jaw tightened.

                Struggling to maintain his own temper as he retorted.  “You have not entered your first proving ground, Loki.  You are not eligible to leave unescorted.”

                Loki’s eyes grew colder. Just by the state of him it was obvious he had been in some sort of struggle.  But he had no prize to show for it, for the demons didn’t die.  Even with death blows they just regenerated.  Responding casually, “I killed a phoenix.”

                Odin blinked once at him before he asked, “A phoenix?”

                “Of course. Naturally there is not body.  Do you still forbid me?”  Now a dangerous purr entered his voice.  The kind of purr that he had learned was Frigga’s unspoken warning.

                The All-Father looked over this boy carefully. Beyond the coldness in his eyes, there was that familiar loss of innocence that always occurred after a boy’s proving ground.  He didn’t believe Loki but there was enough unsubstantial evidence that he couldn’t deny him.  As they were not alone he replied gruffly.  “For now, yes.  You have passed your proving ground, but you did so without formal leave.  You may earn back your privilege to leave Asgard in time.”  The two of them stared at one another.

                “F-father.”

                Odin turned towards Thor who had spoken so uncharacteristically hesitant.  The thunderer looked pale and a little shaken.  “Yes, Thor?”

                The thunderer paused to blink owlishly at his brother.  He’d never seen Loki so unkempt.  But then he blinked and returned his attention to his father.  “The lake in front of the palace is gone.”

                It was Odin’s turn to blink as he asked, “Gone?”

                “It...the water vanished before my eyes.  It turned to mist as I journeyed from the Bi-Frost.”

                Odin turned back to stare at Loki.  But his youngest didn’t smile mischievously or even speak.  He didn’t need to.  The warning in denying him access to his daughter was understood.  Those gray-green eyes glittered with something cold and angry before the prince gave his father a bow that was completely proper but felt like mockery.  He left without a word but what wasn’t said was heard loud and clear.  He didn’t need the Bi-Frost to do as he wished.

* * *

                Odin found Frigga standing at the entrance to Hela’s room, staring within without seeing.  Yet when she spoke it was obvious her words were for him.  “She was like a daughter to me.  She **is** a daughter to Loki.”

                They weren’t in a public corridor so he didn’t need to address her as a queen instead of his wife, yet he found himself doing so anyway.  “One he is too young to acknowledge.”

                Rather than comment on that with her opinion, Frigga pressed her lips together firmly.  She saw no reason why a child should be punished for the sins of their parents.  Or in Hela’s case, a technicality that the Advisory Council used to rid themselves of a child who would one day grow into a brilliant, strong woman who would challenge their comfortable positions.  They felt a similar threat from Loki, but there was little they could do about it.

                Sometimes she would go into trances to see what was to be. She wasn’t certain what she had seen last night, a vision that had manifested without prompting.  At the moment they were nothing more than vague impressions and broken images.  But she suspected the loss of Hela would be haunting them for years to come.  As soon as she found him she would hold Loki tightly and pray that she wouldn’t lose her youngest next.

                “Perhaps we should have one of the servants clear this room.”

                “You will do as you wish, husband.”  Her response was demure and proper, yet Odin heard the unspoken criticism.

                His brow furrowed just a little as he glanced at her and asked, “What use is an unused space collecting dust?”  He felt the sting of her loss, even though he hid it, but there was no retracting what had been done.

                Frigga brushed her fingertips against a wall.  “Preserved it will symbolize a hope that it will not be unused forever…cleaned it will serve as a different message.”

                “And what message is that?”

                Her lips pursed ever so slightly before she replied, keeping her tone even.  “That you cared nothing for her and are glad to be rid of her.”

                “If you wish to speak then do so, my wife.”

                Now Frigga turned, keeping her expression carefully contained.  “I am your wife.  I was not born of Asgard but I have learned what was expected of me to be a proper Asgardian wife as well as a queen.”

                He nodded to her and replied with formal words, knowing she would get to her point eventually.  “And you have performed your duties well.”

                She took in a slow breath, exhaling just as slowly.  “I will not live in fear for centuries to come that my son will be ripped from me just as easily as she was.”

                Odin folded his arms behind his back, agitation returning to his voice.  “The pair of them made this choice--…”

                “They are but children.”

                He stood up just a little straighter.  “I have accepted Loki’s return from his proving ground.  He is no longer a child.”

                Now her eyes narrowed just a little.  A hint of a growl entered her voice as she spoke, “But he is not yet a man and we both know that event is centuries away.  Unless you intend to pass the mantle to either of your sons they are too young to shoulder the blame in this loss.”

                “Then who should be blamed?”  She didn’t say it and she didn’t have to, she just looked at him.  He scowled at her and turned away.

                She followed him.  She would not be ignored.  Not today.  Not when his decision was so important.  “You have a choice to make, husband.  You will vow to me that under no circumstance will Loki ever be exiled or put to death.”

                He jerked around to stare at her in surprise and horror.  “What have you seen?”  He wondered what could possibly occur that would make him even consider assigning a death sentence for Loki.

                As always she remained tight-lipped, knowing just uttering a future could have negative consequences that would impact all of them, instead of just a few of them.  “You will give me this vow, or he will be told the truth.”

                Odin felt his eye widen, needing no clarification as to what she meant.  The truth concerning Loki’s origins.  The truth that his son was not truly his by birth but a Jötunn child he’d found and claimed as his own.  He knew his worst fears would come true.  Loki learning where he came from now after just losing Hela would send his youngest fleeing from Asgard, possibly never to return.  “You cannot--…”

                “Cannot husband?”  She didn’t even gesture.  All that was required were her eyes narrowing a little in concentration for an illusion of herself to appear on Odin’s opposite side.  The illusion spoke, catching the king’s attention and causing him to look to the left.  “You underestimate my abilities.”  The illusion faded as Frigga spoke once more, her concentration on her husband.  She held her head a little higher as he turned right once more.  “Or is it my resolve that you doubt?”

                She noted the slight slumping of his shoulders.  He shook his head as he murmured to himself, “…two impossible choices…”

                “Not at all, Odin.”  He blinked once at her in surprise at the rather curt response.  There was a hint of frost in her voice, the barest hint of a frown of disapproval touching her lips.  “It is a simple choice for a man who is a father before he is a king.”

                He glared at her for a moment.  They both knew he wasn’t.  He was the man his father had raised him to be.  “You will not speak of the truth without my approval.”

                She sighed slowly through her nose, resigned.  “You will regret that decision but that is our agreement.”

                Odin nodded once.  “Then it is agreed.  I will neither decide nor allow Asgard to permanently exile or kill Loki and in exchange the truth will be revealed when I deem the time to be right.”  With regret Frigga nodded in return, knowing this was perhaps one of Odin’s greatest mistakes.

* * *

 

HELHEIM

                Hela stayed in one place long after Loki had left.  She stared up and out, as if she could see Asgard from here.  She’d been banished.

                She was surrounded by demons who were on their knees, supplicant to her. In the distance the souls that inhabited this realm were tentatively hopeful of her presence.  She’d been banished.

                This is all she would have now. A realm of her own, with only the dead for company.  But the thought of her banishment wouldn’t stop.  It continued and now a rage unlike any she’d ever felt before followed.  The AEsir had dared to banish her for doing what was necessary to survive.  Odin, that sanctimonious son of a jackal tried to punish her for living.

                But she was not helpless. She would never be helpless again.  And one day…one day she would have her revenge.  So long as Loki called Asgard home the realm would be spared but once that was no longer the case she would destroy them.  Green magic whipped viciously around her as she tilted her head back and screamed.


End file.
